ChaosForge are truly onto something special with Jupiter Hell, a roguelike that doesn't really feel like one and each update just makes it even more awesome to play.

They continue to push out regular updates, with another released this week. The first big addition of the latest update is the inclusion of more levels and secrets, as the second Io branch - CRI Laboratories is now in. This includes its own special level the "CRI Armory".

Also in this release are the new Medical and Technical stations. Medical will allow you to do things like heal up or extract a health pack, while Technical will let you control your mod supply or perhaps repair some armour. The point of these stations is to "allow for some control over your run".

Pictured: A Medical Station.

More fun stuff made it into this release like Acid. It can be found as a new type of explosive barrel as well as the Archreavers enemy. ChaosForge said that since the Reavers are now more deadly, they shouldn't spawn right in your face now.

Other tweaks have also been made to the Callisto and Europa special levels, giving you the ability to find newly added weapons including the DV rocket launchers and chainguns which will give a chance to really rip and tear like never before.

Exploding barrels are fun, the new stations are a good idea too and they all certainly help it feel quite dynamic and modern. Thankfully, they are planning to add more environmental interactions too. If you want to see want else they plan to add, they do have a Roadmap here. More of everything: enemies, items, traits, challenges, cutscenes, modular weapons, boss fights and a whole lot more.

As for how it's currently running on Linux, I've yet to encounter any issues that soured my enjoyment of it. Performance is fantastic, especially now it's using Vulkan. In a run earlier today, I will admit that I had a bit of a panic when opening the door to find this:

A little fancy finger work to get out of the mech's line of fire, as well as build up some dodge bonus and I thankfully managed to take it down but at a great cost. I was left with 2HP—ouch. It goes to show how good the atmosphere is, for such a turn-based game to make my heart go when I open a door to find that staring down at me.

So far, Jupiter Hell is off to a very solid start. Despite it being a turn-based roguelike, it feels a lot more like an action game. I know I've likely said this before elsewhere but it's true. A lot of similar turn-based games feel like the turns really interrupt you but Jupiter Hell is just so smooth.

Also, Roguelike Radio recently spoke to the developer on Episode 154 of their Podcast which is worth a listen for some back story and other fun details. Really interesting episode, we even got a nice shout out on it from the developer around 18:25 when they talk about open sourcing DRL (D**m, the Roguelike).

I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. See more from me

As a huge DOOMRL fan I think it's about time I got this. Looks to be shaping up nicely.

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